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King & Spalding's Energy Practice Adds David Lavery as Counsel in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES--(Marketwire - December 13, 2010) - Energy lawyer David Lavery has joined King & Spalding as counsel in the firm's Abu Dhabi office. Lavery brings significant oil and gas, LNG (liquefied natural gas) and mining experience to the firm, and he has worked extensively in Australia in South East Asia.

"We are very pleased to welcome David to King & Spalding," said Philip R. Weems, co-leader of the firm's global energy practice. "The energy sector continues to be of strategic importance to the firm, and David's experience in transactional energy matters expands both the capabilities of our Abu Dhabi office and our ability to meet client needs in the region."

Lavery is the second energy expert to join the firm's Abu Dhabi office this year. He will work closely with construction and infrastructure partner-elect Tim Burbury, who joined King & Spalding's Abu Dhabi office in February of this year, to further expand the firm's energy sector footprint in both the Middle East and Caspian regions.

Lavery specializes in projects, infrastructure and transactional energy matters, and has particular expertise within the oil and gas and mining sectors. He has spent considerable time working and residing in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, advising on joint ventures, offtake issues, project financings, mergers, acquisitions, corporate restructurings and various environmental issues. Lavery has an LL.M degree from the University of Melbourne (Australia), an LL.B degree from the University of Ottawa (Ontario, Canada) and B.A. degrees from Carleton University (Ontario, Canada), the University of Guelph (Ontario, Canada) and the University of Freiburg (Germany), and is fluent in English, French and German.

Prior to joining King & Spalding, Lavery was special counsel in Minter Ellison's Perth, Australia, office.

"The continued growth of our Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Riyadh offices reflects both the demands of our clients and our dedication to the region," added Middle East office managing partner Jawad Ali. "David's experience complements our strategic growth plan there, and we look forward to his contributions as those offices continue to grow."

King & Spalding's energy practice has experienced an influx of talent over the past 24 months, with the firm bringing on 15 industry practitioners. This includes: counsel Adrian L. Talamantes and foreign legal consultants Vera de Gyarfas and Rodrigo Morales Draxl who will focus on energy transactional and project work in Latin America from the firm's Houston, Texas, office; a team of five prominent energy transaction lawyers from Hogan Lovells, including energy development partners Garry Pegg and Hywel Jones and Counsel Nina Howell, in the firm's London office; Crayton L. Bell, a well-known acquisitions and private equity lawyer specializing in the energy sector, in the New York office; construction and infrastructure partners-elect Tim M. Burbury and Leroy Levy, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, respectively; projects and construction partner James Bremen, in London; and energy regulatory partners Neil L. Levy, David G. Tewksbury and Bruce L. Richardson, in Washington D.C. In addition, to serve as a hub for the firm's work in both energy transactions and international arbitration throughout the Asia-Pacific, King & Spalding opened an office in Singapore in September 2010, adding international arbitration partner John Savage.

Consistently ranked among the top energy practices in the world, King & Spalding advises clients on a broad spectrum of transactions, including project development and finance, construction and procurement, joint ventures, investments, mergers and acquisitions, privatizations and capitalizations, and marketing and trading across the oil and gas, power, natural resources and marine transportation industries. The more than 150 lawyers who comprise the group are resident in the majority of the firm's offices and virtually all of its practice groups, giving King & Spalding one of the broadest and deepest benches of energy lawyers in the world. Chambers USA ranks King & Spalding as one of only four firms in the top tier for international arbitration work. The firm won the 2010 Chambers USA and Chambers Latin America Awards for Excellence in international arbitration, and last year the firm's construction practice was an award finalist.

About King & SpaldingCelebrating 125 years of service, King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Abu Dhabi, Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Houston, London, New York, Paris, Riyadh (affiliated office), San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Singapore and Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the Fortune 100 and, according to a Corporate Counsel survey in August 2009, ranks fifth in its total number of representations of those companies. For additional information, visit www.kslaw.com.